CHAMPLIEU
Commune of Orruy, canton of Crepy-en-Valois, arrondissement of Senlis, Oise, France.
A sanctuary (ca. 150 x 250 m) on the boundary of the
civitas of the Suessiones (capital Soissons) and that of
the Silvanectes (capital Senlis); it contains a temple, a
theater, and a bath complex.
The temple, surrounded by a portico 3.8 m wide, faces
E. The classical proportions (rectangular peribolos 160
Roman feet x 120), the importance of the podium, and
the motifs of the carved blocks are Roman, but certain
details testify to the survival of Celtic religious features:
the base of a presentation tablet in the S gallery, the
orientation, and the square cella. The reliefs show
Graeco-Roman mythological motifs involving Apollo,
Achilles, Mercury, and Eros; all were once painted. The
frequent representation of Apollo suggests that the temple may have been dedicated to him.
The theater and baths are S of the temple. The theater,
adjoining the S side of the wall surrounding the temple,
has a central (N-S) axis of 49 m and a radius of 35.7 m.
Except for the stage wall, which has disappeared, the
main features are well preserved: six passages, the entrance and steps leading to the top of the cavea, and the first tiers.
The baths, surrounded by a rectangular enclosure
53 m x 23 m, were reached by a courtyard serving as a
palaestra and surrounded by a portico 3 m wide. The
sequence of rooms, decorated with painted stucco and
marble, followed the Roman tradition. The temple, theater, and baths are not all on the same axis. Further excavation is indispensable, and some parts of the site, such as the palaestra and the S gallery of the temple, have
not yet been fully uncovered.
The importance of this frontier sanctuary was confirmed by the discovery in 1917 of four milestones dedicated to Gordian, Philip and his son, Trebonianus Gallus and Volusianus, and Diocletian. The milestone
fragments are stored in the Musée des Antiquités Nationales at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grenier,
Manuel III (1958) 407-12,
860-67; IV (1960) 333-36; G. C. Picard, “Les théâtres
ruraux en Gaule,”
RA (1970) fasc. 1, 25-32; P. Wuilleumier,
Inscriptions latines des trois Gaules (1963) 195-96.
P.LEMAN
